TUS NUA - ch 7

TUS NUA – ch 7

New Beginnings – Mia and Midnight

(*)(*)(*)

As Annora and her sister, CC were in their room and Annora explained what she knew, the other young women who sat circled around the dining room table, shared thoughts, ideas, fears, and their own experiences.

“I remember having a “girls night out” with my friends. I excused myself to use the ladies’ room and that’s all I remember. Until waking up here.” said Liz Waters.

Ali mentioned that she had agreed to meet her best friend who had just gotten engaged. “We were planning a dinner with a few glasses of wine. I arrived at the restaurant before her and was immediately taken to our reserved table. I ordered the wine. I remember a handsome, dark-haired man bringing over the bottle. I assumed he was the waiter. He poured a bit in my glass. I’d seen this done in movies where you tasted a sip before he poured the full glass. I was impressed and flattered. Next thing I remembered was someone grabbing my arm and sticking a needle in it. Then I woke up here.”

“Laura and I were at a graduation party. Our friend just graduated from high school. We were seventeen and promised our parents we wouldn’t drink and didn’t yet both of us felt like we had and had too much. Then we woke up here.”

Mia held up her hand in a stop, wait a minute sign. “Whoa! Wait. Mary, you mean to tell me that you have no idea what’s happened in the past four years?”

Mary and her sister, Laura, looked at Mia in total surprise. “Four years? Has it been four years?” Laura began to sob.

Abby Maurer placed her face in her hands and Mia could tell by the way her shoulders shuddered that she was silently crying.

“Okay, sisters, and I hope you’ll allow me to call you sisters. Women, girls, young ladies, all seem like useless titles. With varied ages and now clearly varied timelines of captivity, I can only guess that your youth has been stripped away. Let me begin by asking this way. Analiese, you’re now twenty-three. Can you tell me the last thing you remember that might indicate how long you’ve been with the Morettis?”

Mia went around the table and found that Sybil Verne, who at the age of eighteen, was the first, taken ten years ago.

Her list included only the young women in Tus Nua, not the ones who managed to escape. And it still surprised her that this family had gotten away with these crimes for so many years without even a hint of getting caught. While she wanted with all her heart to change that, she knew that Finola’s punishment far exceeded whatever sentence the law could hand them. Finola’s spell was for a lifetime.

Mia turned as Annora and her sister descended the stairs.

CC looked at Mia and asked, “It’s true what Rory said? We can stay here as long as we’d like?”

Mia smiled and nodded. “We will never turn anyone away or toss them out. At the same time, as soon as you feel you’re well enough, you’re free to go wherever you wish.”

She heard Laura say, “All I want is to go home to mom and dad. They must be worried sick.” Her sister, Mary agreed.

Liz, the wife of Finola’s nephew, Ian handed each young woman a pad and pen and suggested they write down what their goals might be.

1. Do you want to go home to family?

2. Do you have best friends you need to notify?

3. What are your talents? For instance, CC loves to paint.

4. Might you consider staying in Ireland?

5. What about school? Work? What were you doing when you were taken?

Finola nodded to Liz. “Thank you, Liz. This will help more than you know.”

Morena, Brian’s wife, came from the kitchen. “Supper will be ready in about five minutes. Jules, would you like to help me set the table?”

Julie beamed, “Oh! absolutely!”

Abby, who, for some reason, suspected that she was always shy, stood and asked, “Ms. Morena? What can I do? Please let me help.”

Morena, without smiling, encouraged her. “Abby, isn’t? Jules will show you where everything is. Between the two of you, the table will be set in a heartbeat.” She turned and walked back to the kitchen.

Analiese collected the pads and pens and placed them all on the sideboard so each young woman could find theirs once supper was finished. Then she spoke, “Finola? Damn, that sounds weird. We should call you Ms. Finola or Ms. Diehl. But just Finola? Somehow after all you’ve done for us, that sounds so disrespectful.”

Finola chuckled. “Probably because you don’t know me very well. Not to worry, my stor. We are a very informal family. Now, dear, to answer your question. After supper, just go upstairs and pick a room. Currently, with the except of the room Annora has chose, all the doors are white. However, once you touch the knob of your chosen room, the door will change to your favorite color. The two bathrooms on each floor. We’ll have to share these. Giving each bedroom its own bathroom would have made this house way too large.”

Analiese looked at Finola quizzically which made Mia laugh. “Analiese, you’ll get used to this. Finola can always anticipate what you’re going to ask and often long before you can form the question in your head.”

Mia spoke silently to her aunt. “Aintin, I think we need to use your mirror for Laura and Mary. Can we do this after supper?”

Finola looked at the twins and as she nodded, silently said, “Yes, and I think they should go home as quickly as possible. Hopefully, tomorrow. We’ll have your mom examine them and then we’ll decide. Will you make the trip with me?”

Mia smiled, “I’d like nothing better.”